5 Benefits of Sightseeing by Minibus

If you’re organising a sightseeing holiday, it is likely that you want to make every minute count. This is completely understandable. After all, us Brits work hard and don’t claim very much holiday. What little time off we do take off is limited and therefore valuable. We want to capitalise on our downtime, and we have so much to cram into so short a time. There are things to do, places to see, and friends to meet up with. Faced with this, actually sorting out the intricacies of your trip might feel slightly overwhelming.

c/o Extra Mile Coaches

Thankfully, there are people and services that exist can help you plan an incredible sightseeing adventure. People are increasingly seeing the benefits of hiring a minibus hire with driver and — while it might sound decadent at first — once you learn the minibus hire basics, it becomes the practical answer to all your travel worries.

1. You Can Enjoy a Cheaper Overall Cost

You might have imagined a minibus hire to be a pricey alternative to public transport. In reality, being escorted around in your very own minibus is likely to save you much more money than the countless trains, public buses, and taxis you’ll need to use in a new city. Even if you decide to do your own driving, you need to factor in the cost of petrol, the lost time when you inevitably get lost in a new place, and the undue stress of trying to navigate around an unfamiliar town.

Once you divide the cost of a minibus between all of your party, you could stand to save quite a lot of money. What’s more, you pay your sum in one go, rather than throughout the day. When we spend our money in dribs and drabs, we tend to spend far more than we realise.

2. Minibus Hire With a Driver Will Take You Door-to-Door

One huge advantage that minibus hires hold over traditional public transport is the fact that a minibus will take you from location to specific location. You aren’t taken to a station and forced to make your own way to your next sightseeing stop. Aside from the convenience factor, it takes a weight off your mind and saves you time. This will help you better allocate and plan your valuable holiday time.

3. You Can Benefit from Expert Local Advice

While you’re being driven door-to-door by your own personal minibus hire, you’ll have the added benefit of the driver’s local knowledge and experience. They will be able to point out places of interest, curious local attractions, and hidden gems that you may not have been able to find online. What’s more, the driver will know the fastest and best way to get from place to place, while avoiding traffic build-up. There’s nothing like having a local by your side when you’re trying to get to know a new place!

After all, cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh can be dizzying to the uninitiated. The benefit of minibus hire in Edinburgh is that your driver isn’t just anybody; your driver knows his stuff!

4. You Have a Designated Driver, So You Can Relax and Enjoy Yourself

If you’re visiting a new area, you’re going to want to relax and maybe even indulge a little bit. You will want to try the famous local brew, but — of course — if you are driving yourself around, then one of your party will need to be the designated driver. A minibus hire with driver removes this concern. You’re free to enjoy your sightseeing adventure and have a wine (or three) with dinner without worrying about how you’ll get home.

5. It’s a Private and Comfortable Option

There is nothing quite like having your own comfortable, personal space when travelling from place to place. You don’t have to concern yourself with whether or not you’ll actually get a seat on a train or if the public bus will have air conditioning. The minibus you hire is exclusively for you and your party, so you can be confident in your own space. You can truly relax and you can safely leave your bag behind in the minibus between rides.

Wherever you go during your next sightseeing trip, remember to have a great time, properly relax, and escape the pressures of everyday life. We work so hard on a day-to-day basis, and you deserve the occasional break. Take a back seat this holiday and enjoy your downtime in style.

6 Comments

One very important factor that is also worth mentioning, is parking! If you self-drive, you can rarely park just outside any attractions, at least not in Europe. Rather than having to drive around in an unfamiliar city, trying to find somewhere to park, looking for loose change to pay the meter and then trying to find your way back to the attraction; the driver will drop you off as close to the place you want to visit as he possibly can. And he will pick you up from there again afterwards.

I am sure most couples will agree with me that map-reading can cause no end of arguments, so having someone who knows the route is worth it just to save that hassle.

The time factor is a really important one to me – with a driver you can see in a day what it could take up to a week to negotiate on public transport.

You mentioned drinking – but eating is also another point which the driver can help you with – he can recommend and take you to a restaurant to suit your taste for lunch.

This is why we so often hire a car and a driver when we travel, for all the reasons above and more. We are lazy travellers, we don’t like to spend hours looking for the right train or bus; nor having to stand for long periods of time when public transport is full (something I can no longer do because of a back problem): you are guaranteed a seat. With a bad back, the last thing I want to do is traipsing around a city with my backpack or wheelybag getting from the bus stop to the hotel, so car and driver all the way!

One last thing I would like to mention – check what the local customs are with regards to tipping your driver. In many countries they get paid a minimum ‘retainer’ for the day, with tips making up the main part of their salary.

Thanks Grete for these additional benefits – some great ones that I hadn’t thought of but agree with completely.

The parking one is a massive issue for me, especially at some of the larger tourist attractions that charge you to use their carpark. So not only are you paying an entry feet you also have to pay to park! Friend recently visited Legoland in Windor – £100 for 2 adults and 2 children then an additional £10 to park!

We are very much like you with regard to the time issue, especially if only visiting somewhere for a short period of time i.e. a 3 day city break. Who wants to spend 3 hours getting somewhere on public transport when you can hire a minibus/car and driver and get there in half the time. Therefore making the most of what little time you have.

Good call on the tipping thing – it can be a minefield. Especially for Brits where it’s not the norm (I am guilty of undertipping *tut tut*)

Great point! Especially in hot countries where lugging a rucksack around is not ideal.

Vicky & Chris

Thanks for joining us (Vicky & Chris, a married couple from Yorkshire, England) as we Eat, Sleep, Love and Travel our way around the world! Between us, we have been to 75 countries (long may the list grow!)

We have been travelling together since January 2007 when we took our first trip only two weeks from our first meeting to Florence, Italy.